Trimley grandfather recalls 1950 fire at Ipswich cinema

On February 22, 1950, a fire swept through the iconic Central Cinema in Princes Street, having been started in the adjoining Haddock and Baines paper merchants.

On the day in question, John Barker, had gone to see a film after school, as he often did. 

His father, also John Barker, was the manager of Central Cinema, and so the young John was able to go in for free, settling himself in the cinema’s upper circle.

After the school day had finished, he would walk from Ipswich School in Henley Road down to the Cornhill, where he would catch a bus to take him to the family home in Beechcroft Road.

The now 82-year-old Mr Barker shared his story with his granddaughter, Ipswich Star and East Anglian Daily Time's reporter Abygail Fossett after seeing a photograph in the paper's nostalgia section on Tuesday.

John Barker, pictured with granddaughter Abygail Fossett, was the son of cinema manager John Barker. (Image: Newsquest) John Barker Senior, pictured outside the Playhouse Cinema in Felixstowe, of which he was also manager. (Image: Newsquest) Before going home, he would often call into the cinema to see his father and to catch the latest picture.

“I was sitting in the circle seats upstairs, when I became aware of something flickering in the top right-hand corner,” remembered Mr Barker. “I was looking at it, when it suddenly dawned on me what it was.”

Nobody else had noticed the fire, but from his higher vantage point, Mr Barker could see what was happening.

• Gallery: Remembering fires that have torn through Ipswich landmarks

He continued: “I rushed downstairs and told my father. He sent me home and went off to investigate. They had to evacuate the theatre.

“He was very late home that day.”

The cinema stood derelict for several years. (Image: Dave Kindred) The Central Cinema building was destroyed and stood derelict for several years.

Following this, Mr Barker’s father became manager of the Playhouse cinema in Felixstowe.